There’s a plethora of building options not covered in the current earthbag literature, one of which is using wood siding on earthbag houses. Plaster is by far the most common wall finish, but it’s always good to know about other options. For instance, you may have access to a portable sawmill and low cost timber … Read more
A couple in Alberta, Canada have built what appears to be a very nice little dome sauna with earthbags. They say that they have only spent about $125 (mostly on bag material), with the rest of the materials either dug from their property or gleaned from dumps, etc. The bags were first covered with a … Read more
I am very pleased to announce that a new forum has been created where people can share information, photos, videos, questions, and network socially…all about earthbag building! It is The Earthbag Building Network and it is very easy to register and become a participant. I just did, and I hope that many of you will … Read more
For ease of getting a permit for earthbag houses, buy rural land with few or no building restrictions. Ask building officials about building restrictions before buying land! Some will let you build with alternative materials (earthbag, strawbale, adobe, etc.), some won’t. Although alternative materials are allowed by code, some counties make the process so difficult … Read more
I’ve just unveiled my first zero energy house — Zero Energy One — at Earthbag House Plans. Unlike most zero energy houses that cost a small fortune (around $250,000), Zero Energy One earthbag house can be built for about $10/sq. ft. exclusive of the energy systems. This design minimizes net energy use, embodied energy in … Read more
Earthbag building requires very few tools. You mostly need sturdy, basic tools such as shovels, buckets and tampers. Buy the best quality you can afford. This may mean buying from yard sales or Craigslist to get older, higher quality tools. A lot of new stuff is junk that will fall apart in a few days … Read more